Chronicle of Tuscany Cycling Adventure
Ross A. Hauser, M.D., 4-time Ironman Finisher

Marion and I are currently on a plane from Florence Italy to Amersterdam and hopefully after that on a direct flight to Chicago. We left on my birthday September 14 (2007, yes I just turned 45) and we are hopeful to arrive home today, September 24th. When we arrive at our home we hope to see Krista and Peter Blakemore, as they will be staying with us for 11 weeks, as Peter does some medical school rotations in and around Chicago. He is currently a fourth year osteopathic medical school and is contemplating following in my footsteps and becoming a Physiatrist (Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation Specialist). Perhaps more importantly he is extremely motivated to become a Prolotherapist. I suspect some day he may be one of the foremost pain experts.

Ever since taking up cycling about six years ago, Marion and I have looked at various cycling tours. We finally chose Tuscany Italy because of Marion’s heritage (Italian), her love for cooking and wine, and our friends Allan and Barb Parungao and Nicole Baird and Travis Mitchell would be joining us. The trip also coincided with the release of the book The Hauser Diet, which Marion and Nicole wrote. The trip was there reward for working so hard these last four years on this book. It has the potential to revolutionize nutritional thinking, much like the book Prolo Your Pain Away! has done for pain management. We hope to have the actual book in our hands when we arrive at the office tomorrow. Yes a lot is going on!

I don’t want to just write about what we did each day but would rather talk about what it takes to fulfill one’s dreams. I believe we all have dreams, but most do not pursue them til the end. I do not believe that most Americans dreamt when they were young of a time when they could sit at home and watch T.V. 3 to 4 hours per day. (Yes that is the amount of time the average American watches T.V. I get more and more convinced as I get older that one of the best things that could happen to the average American household is to throw their T.V.’s away. We spent the last 10 days watching no T.V., using no cell phones, doing no internet searching and it was bliss!

So what are your dreams? You had them at one point if you don’t have them any more. What are your true life goals, ambitions, thoughts, dreams? One that Marion and I had (along with our friends) was to do this trip. As a side note Barbara and Allan were not able to go on this trip because Barb broke several ribs right before the trip because she slipped on her stairs at her home. So now for lesson number 1: Don’t Give Up Your Dreams! Life is to short and what is the purpose of life anyway? We can all give a lot of philosophical answers but it really boils down to fulfilling your destiny, which Christians call following God’s will for your life. In even more simple terms I would say that God gives us a gift or special talent and we are to use those talents to serve God and humanity so God gets the glory. (1 Peter 4:9-10, paraphrase) So what does this have to do with Italy? Sometimes you have to get away and get rejuvenated to realize more then ever that you do want to finish the work God has for you. God has put on each heart a dream…a pursuit…but too often that strong call only becomes a whimper as we get busy with our daily pursuits and drawn into what the mass media wants to think and feel. I am saying to you please don’t give up your dreams!

When you pursue your dreams, you extend yourself. You charter yourself into the unknown and you grow as a person. As you grow as a person you better yourself and in the process better everyone around you! So lesson number 2 is: Pursuing Your Dreams Changes Not Only You For The Better But Those Around You! You know this is true. People don’t do what you say they probably though will do as you do! As you grow into a more rounded, wise, strong, confident, energetic person, others will follow! This does not necessarily mean you will head off to Italy for a cycling adventure, but perhaps because you know Marion and I and through our encouragement you will take the next step to fulfill your dreams! By doing so I am sure you will be happier and that happiness will spread to others.

We were picked up by our taxi at 11 a.m. on September 14th and did not reach our destination in San Donato Italy until 2 pm September 16th. It took us 50 hours (but we gained 7 hours so technically 43 hours) to reach our destination. Our first flight out of Chicago was delayed 5 hours. So we missed our connecting flight from Frankfurt to Florence. Needless to say we had a nightmare in Frankfurt. We couldn’t get on any flights to Florence. We ended up on a flight to Bologna Italy that got us in late September 15th. We took a train then to Florence so we missed a whole day in Florence. We needed to be at the Figiline train station at 12:30 pm on September 16th to get picked up by a van from Ciclismo Classico, the company that was taking us on the cycling tour through Italy. We got on the right train from Florence but when we arrived at the Figiline train station the doors did not immediately open for us to get off. There was an Italian lady also waiting to get off. Before we knew it the train left and we were basically screwed. We got off at the next train station and of course the train to get back to Figiline was delayed. I could not even talk to anyone I just walked up and down the train terminal. I was livid! This brings us to lesson number 3: When Trying To Fulfill A Dream Expect Crap To Happen! You see I have a very simple view of the world. That which is good is from God and that which is bad is ultimately from Satan. When you are trying to do something good and crab happens I suspect Satan is involved. Again this is a simple view but it works for me. But before you pooh pooh it, it does have scriptural basis. (remember the bible verse, ‘every good and perfect gift is from above’) The more important a task, especially when it relates to something you have been working on for a long time, like the finishing of a book, or the fulfillment of some long term goal, expect hardship. If it was easy anyone would do it. In that train terminal, now with the realization we wouldn’t meet our pick up, I thought to myself that nothing could worth all this. How wrong I was! We did call a cab to take us back to Figiline and of course that was delayed. Finally Fluppe (actual name Federicka Luppe) one of the guides for the cycling tour was kind enough to pick us up at the train station we were at.

Basically about one hour after Fluppe (Italian girl, great accent and wonderful, nice young lady), Travis, Nicole, Marion and I were at a Fattoria (farm) resort at our rooms with panoramic view over looking the valleys of Tuscany. The view from our balconies were unbelieveable! Plus the rooms and the resort were spectacular. The actual name of the place was Fattoria degli Usignoli. I would highly recommend it! It wasn’t a resort like we have in the states. This was basically a tuscan farm that had a bunch of rooms but they were more like villas. They had two bedrooms and a kitchen. The grounds were all natural with rolling hills and every where you went you saw vineyards, mountains and olive trees. It was hard at that time to remember just one hour ago I was tremendously upset and wanting to go back to America. So Lesson Number 4 is simply: It Is Worth It To Pursue Your Dreams No Matter How Impossible Or Hard It Seems At The Time! Basically you have to be the one driving your dreams, because obstacles will be everywhere. But fulfilling dreams changes you into the type of person you want to become. Remember you do have a special gift given to your by God to serve your fellow man and give God glory! There may be many twists and turns and tremendous obstacles to overcome but if you continue to persevere you will see that it is worth it!

Later that first day we met the other 16 people on the tour and our other two guides Simone (Sardinian) and Dave (American). They put our saddles and peddles on the bikes they were supplying. Then we were all off on our first bike ride. Immediately out of the Frattoria was a hill. It was a very good omen as to what our cycling was going to be like. It was going to be hilly! Thus lesson number 5: Fulfilling Your Dream Will Stretch You To Places You Did Not Believe You Could Go! Most of the group did an 8 mile ride that I am telling you was tough! Lots of climbing! But seven us chose to go on a 4.7 mile climb with an average grade of 8 percent. Believe me when I tell you that it was longest climb I had ever done and this was only day one of the Italy cycling tour! What impressed wasn’t so much that I could do the climb but that Travis and others could complete it. The climb took something like 50 minutes and covered about 2000 feet of elevation change. Yes we were going like 5-7 mph that is it! By this time it was getting dark and drizzling I decided it wise not to go the roughly 12 miles downhill back to our home base for many reasons, including the dangerous downhill and the dropping temperatures that would make cycling downhill freezing! I was content with the 1 hour 45 minutes of cycling during which I only had ridden 12-13 miles!

During the evenings we had the typical 3 hour Tuscan meals. It wasn’t what I thought. I assumed we would be given just tons and tons of food but the portions of each course were just enough. When you left dinner, even though you had been eating for several hours you did not feel overly stuffed. Of course the food and company was awesome. I will let Marion give you more details about the food and wine. For me, the trip was primarily about the cycling, challenging myself, and of course thinking.

It started pouring that first night, so sleep was spotty. We couldn’t cycle in the morning so we went on the olive oil/winery tour that we were going to do in the afternoon. It was awesome, seeing the beautiful grounds/castle that made up this Fattoria. The guide was great. A humble young Italian, whose family had owned this Fattoria for five generations (over 100 years).

We had lunch as a group then cycled 40 miles. The turnaround point was a picturesque village. It was amazing. There was a huge gorge with a small stream running in the middle of it. The town was on both sides of it. This was typical of the cycling tour. We would have ‘regroup’ points where all of us would regroup for espresso, cappuccino, something light to eat, but mostly to make sure everyone was accounted for. This typically occurred every 10 miles or so. We also would have one long stop where we visit in a town or have a meal or both. On this day we stopped at a great gelatoria/espresso place. The cycle back was tremendously hard because of the hills and the wind was against us. This day I ended up doing the extra loop with Dave the guide a few fellows. Dave’s chain broke almost immediately so the few of us were on our own with our maps. I ended up going up this enormous climb by myself and got scared near the top as I wasn’t sure of the direction. It seemed the map did not have all the streets on it. I went back down the hill and hooked up with Doug, who invented the device that is used to kill and process most of the chickens that we consume. Dave and I rode very aggressively for probably an hour and a half together. Again the riding was tough. It was uphill most of the second half of the ride. I was especially happy in that I not only cycled it well but then ran 45 minutes up a lot of hills afterward. Lesson Number Six is this: To Fulfill Dreams Don’t Just Do The Minimum But Do The Most You Can Do! I should also add that it was on this day that I started cycling extra miles. You see it may be 10-15 minutes of waiting at the regroup spots, plus the group might walk around or have cappuccino for 45 minutes at some of the stops. I decided on the second day to use it as a chance to get some extra cycling in! Why? Well I have a half ironman race (MiamiMan) November 11th and this is peak training time. Plus, I really wanted to cycle in Italy! The cycling was spectacular! The scenary was picturesque. The roads were windy and the hills were relentless! It was awesome!

That evening we met for dinner. We had an Italian singer doing Italian and American songs. The guides sang some, as did one of the participants on the tour Steve. He used to be a professional musician. He was on his honeymoon with his new bride Katie. Steve was awesome. It was a fun night, but again we stayed out too late for a group that was going to cycle for 3 plus hours again tomorrow.

The next day we rode from San Donato to Arrezo. Another hill top town! What was especially great about the cycling was as you approached a hill top town you could see it in the distance. It was so beautiful. You knew where you were going. Once you climbed up the hill spectacular views of the below value awaited you! Plus a wonderful downhill. It was during this day that I did an extra loop that ended up a very quaint ‘borro’ where they filmed part of movie The English Patient. It was so awesome! I rode very hard with Fluppe the tour guide and a very good cyclist Michael. We put the hammer to the pedal and wore our the tour guide. We eventually dropped her. Ok it was fun dropping her. You see there would be one tour guide at the front and one at the back and one would be in the vehicle in case someone had bike trouble. Somewhere during the ‘main’ loop there would be the chance to do the extra loop. The extra loop would involve climbing. As the tour went one less and less people did the extra loops. I did them all except the last day. Once at Arrezo, we all ordered pizza and we showered at our new hotel (Vogue Hotel Arezzo) and met for a walking tour of the town, after which time we could shop in the town and have dinner. The walking tour guide was Claudia who spent almost the whole town showing us Francescan panels at this church. The walking tour was after we had cycled all day. We were all hot to begin with but this church must have had a heat index of over 100 degrees! I told my ‘buds’ on the tour that this was the hardest thing I had done so far on the tour ‘try and make it through this walking tour!’. I actually didn’t make it through the whole tour. This night Marion and I got eated by mosquitos because we had the windows open to our room. The hotel was very fancy and couldn’t do enough for us, but I liked the country atmosphere of the first hotel better.

The next day we cycled from Arezzo to another hill top town Cortona. The second half of the ride I hooked up with Marion and we really had to grind it out! I was totally impressed with her tenacity. She rode great! Again the riding was tough. It was uphill most of the second half of the ride and the wind was against us. Cortona was a hill top town and we needed a lot of will power to make it up that hill. Honestly Marion and I were one of the first ones done with that ride. I can’t tell you how hard the last hour of that ride was! Once at Cortona, the town was gorgeous. The hotel was ok, nothing spectacular but the views from the town were amazing. You could see the valley below for miles and miles. We all showed and then met in town for a wine tasting! I skipped that as I am not into wine too much. Remember I am a Lion Diet type and wine is not on my list of liquids to drink. I did not drink much as I wanted to make sure I was ok to cycle every day. Up until this point I rode extremely well. Unfortunatley, even this night I did not sleep too well. For the last few nights the rooms were hot, mostly because Marion and I did not understand how to use the air conditioners. Once we got that down we started sleeping a lot better. We had another 3 hour dinner and honestly I should have went home early that night. It was just too late for me to try and get to bed around midnight again. Michael talked me into meeting at 7:30 a.m. and do the ‘rest’ of the Cortona hill. We had cycled to the hotel which was not at the tippy top of Cortona. So you betcha, Kevin, Michael and I met at 7:30 a.m. for another massive climb. We ended up cycling about 45 minutes. The town was really bustling at about 8 a.m. when we were up there. The high school students were going to class. We stopped off at a coffee house and I had my normal espressor duble which cost $1.50 Euros or $2.25 American dollars. Then of course went to see the breakfast buffet which generally consisted of croissants, other baked goods, cereals, granola, and of course more great Italian coffee!

This was our last cycle with Ciclismo Classico. The main ride was a great ride out to Lake Turismo (I am probably butching up the name). We could see the lake from the top of Cortona. The extra loop would go around the lake. Because of the lack of sleep I didn’t have it in me to cycle around the Lake or do one more climb up to the top of Cortona with Michael when the ride was done. I and most of the group had a nice leisurely last ride together.

When we woke up the next day, Travis, Nicole, Marion and I would take a taxi back to Arezzo to the car rental place and get our Mercedes to rent for three days. We then drove it to Mercatale, just south of Florence. There we rented a villa with even more spectacular views then we had seen. Just when you thought the scenary couldn’t get more spectacular it did!